Europe's Ryder Cup captain, Nick Faldo is set to announce his Ryder Cup team to face the USA, and in it he will include two wild card selections for what is the biggest Golfing spectacle in the World, being played this year at Valhalla Golf club in Louisville, Kentucky. There are a number of players who will no doubt be hoping that one of those names is theirs. Of course the names will not be revealed until after the Johnny Walker Championship at Gleneagles has concluded but it looks like it will be between, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie, and Nick Dougherty. All of these have good claims and Faldo will no doubt have to do some agonising before he finally decides.

Current favourite is Darren Clarke, who did his claims no harm when winning the KLM Dutch Open last week, a victory that was as impressive as they come. It was his second tour win this season and with his past Ryder Cup experience, it is easy to see why he would head the betting. If Clarke performs well at Gleneagles this week then one feels he will be a certainty. The question therefore remain, who will be the second player selected as a wild card?

As it stands, Faldo has an excellent mix of experience and youth. With Padraig Harrington heading the world points list and Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood not far behind, Faldo will be well aware that he has three of the very best players in the world in his team, bang in form and with fantastic Ryder Cup pedigrees. Also qualifying from the World list are the two top Swedish players, Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson. The five currently qualifying from the European lists are, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Oliver Wilson and Soren Hansen.

German, Martin Kaymer, who is next on the European list will know that a top five performance from him at Gleneagles could see him challenging Hansen and Wilson and possibly even Rose, but even if he does then it will not make too much difference to the make up of the side; Faldo will still have the right mix in the automatic qualifiers.

So that just leaves two to add and given that Darren Clarke is almost certain to be one of them, Faldo will have to make a considered judgement and will have to be ruthless in his choice. It would have seemed unthinkable two years ago to have a side without Colin Montgomerie, however, his poor run of form continues and even he must doubt himself. He would hate to be the man who lost the Ryder Cup and with the best will in the world and unless Monty wins at Gleneagles this week then it is difficult to see Faldo selecting him.

Ian Poulter has decided to take his last chance and play in the USA this week along with Paul Casey. Poulter showed he had the mettle for the Ryder Cup team with his gritty performance in the British Open; unfortunately 'Poults' had done nothing before that and nothing since! Casey showed excellent form last week by finishing 7th (two shots behind the leaders) in the Barclays International, but he too by and large has had a disappointing season, but he has the Ryder Cup pedigree that Faldo would surely want in Kentucky. Dougherty is one for the future, he is in fact a protégé of Faldo and Nick would have loved to have had him qualify by right, to invest a wild card in him this year might weaken the experience that the side would need for the match.

The conclusion is that it will be Casey who is most likely to get the second card place and complete the European line up and it will need to finely tuned as the Current Ryder Cup Betting suggests that a closely affair is on the card with the US team out to upset the bookmakers odds and recapture the crown for the first time since 1999.